AN ABATTOIR embroiled in the horsemeat scandal took the carcasses of horses fatally injured at the world-famous Grand National .

West Yorkshire firm Peter Boddy Slaughterhouse, which was shut down this week after investigators suspected horse carcasses were used to make beefburgers and kebabs, has a contract with Aintree racecourse to remove horses put down during meetings.

The course confirmed the ongoing contract existed although there is no evidence that carcasses taken by the firm entered the food chain.

Racing bosses today stressed racehorses could not be eaten by the unwitting public – unless the law had been broken.

An Aintree spokesman said: “By the time these carcasses are returned to the disposal organisation’s premises they are totally unsuitable for consumption. They are likely to contain chemicals such as Bute and are fully signed off as unsuitable.

“Indeed it is illegal for horses humanely put down by injection on the racecourse to enter the food chain.

“We are as confident as we possibly can be that no unfit meat ever reaches the human food chain.”

Peter Boddy Slaughterhouse, in Todmorden, is alleged to have supplied horse carcasses to Farmbox Meats Ltd, in Aberystwyth, which then allegedly turned them into beefburgers or kebabs.

The Food Standards Authority suspended production at both factories on Monday.

Mr Boddy, 63, declined to comment last night but denied having a contract with Aintree.

Two horses were put down in last year’s Grand National, including Gold Cup winner Synchronized. He was not among the carcasses taken by Mr Boddy.

The charity Animal Aid said 1,127 unwanted racehorses were killed in UK abattoirs in 2011.

Director Andrew Tyler said he feared the horse meat scandal would uncover racehorse carcasses being processed for public consumption.

Mr Tyler said: “We know that racehorses are rendered down into soap and chicken feed due to the chemicals in them.

“But if there has been fraudulent activity then these horses could quite possibly have ended up in burgers or kebabs, which is a horrifying prospect.”

Testing on horsemeat in British abattoirs has shown evidence of contamination of Bute – an anti-inflammatory painkiller – over the past three years.

Aintree racecourse said the racing industry “takes every possible course of action” to ensure that fatally injured horses do not enter the food chain.

The Aintree spokesman said: “Proactive and considered measures are in place to prevent this, such as passport identification backed up by a sticker on the passport and close liaison with licensed disposal organisations.

“Aintree racecourse follows these guidelines to the letter.”

A spokesman for the British Horseracing Authority added: “The British racing industry is among the strictly regulated of all equine activities and sports. This includes a range of checks and balances for horses after they leave the sport.”